In a continuing effort to improve the quality of shipping fruits, we, the inventors, typically hybridize a large number of peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, and cherry seedlings each year. We also grow a lesser number of open pollinated seeds of each of these fruits. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of plum tree, which has been denominated varietally as ‘Plumcandy XVI’.
During a typical blooming season we isolate as seed parents both individual and groups of different plum and interspecific trees by covering them with screen houses. A hive of bees is placed inside each such house, and bouquets to provide pollen from different plum, apricot, and interspecific hybrid trees are placed in buckets near the trees approximately every two days for the duration of the bloom. During 2007 one such house containing ‘Black Majesty’ plum tree (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,527) was crossed by us in this manner. To pollinate this plum tree, we selected bouquets from several sources of plum trees without keeping specific written details. Upon reaching maturity the fruit from this plum tree was harvested, and the seeds were removed, cracked, stratified and germinated as a group with the label “H21”. They were grown as seedlings on their own root in our greenhouse and upon reaching dormancy transplanted to a cultivated area of our experimental orchard located near Le Grand, Calif. in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). During the summer of 2012 the claimed variety was selected by us as a single plant from the group of seedlings described above. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of plum tree, we asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting in the experimental orchard described above, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original tree in all respects. The reproduction of the variety included the use of ‘Nemaguard’ (unpatented) rootstock upon which the present variety was compatible and true to type.
The present variety is similar to its seed parent, ‘Black Majesty’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,527) plum tree, by being a medium to large tree, by being vigorous, by blooming in the mid to late season, by being self-unfruitful, by being productive and by producing fruit that is mostly globose in shape, mostly orange yellow in flesh color, very sweet, juicy, and firm, but is distinguished therefrom by producing fruit that is very dark red instead of black in skin color, that is much larger in size, and that ripens about ten days later.
The present variety is most similar to ‘September YUMMY®’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,220) plum tree by having a large and vigorous tree, by being self-unfruitful, by blooming in the mid to late season, by being productive, and by producing fruit that is fairly globose in shape, that is firm in texture, that is mostly red in skin color, that is mostly yellow in flesh color, and that matures in mid to late September, but is distinguished therefrom by producing fruit that is much sweeter in flavor, that is clingstone instead of semi-freestone in type, and that is larger in size.
The present variety is compared and referenced several times in this application to ‘September YUMMY®’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,220), including the abstract and claim. It is to be noted that “YUMMY®” is a United States Trademark, Ser. No. 75/618,722, owned by Johnny Appleseed Holdings Limited, Saint Georges Road South RD2, Hastings, New Zealand. Permission to use has been granted to the applicant by contract.